Good morning, church.
Our sermon text today is from Nehemiah, chapter 13, verses 4 through 30.
That's page 380 in the Pew Bible.
Let me encourage you to turn there with me.
So we've come to the end of our sermon series this summer on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
And these books have told the story of how God rebuilt the ruins of his rebellious people,
this people that he loves.
It tells how he brought them home from exile and how he reestablished them in their land.
The end of chapter 12 and the first four verses of chapter 13,
they show how the people after the rededication ceremony of the rebuilt wall around Jerusalem
responded with great enthusiasm to the word of God.
And now we're going to see how Nehemiah's account ends.
What is the final word to us from these powerful books?
So let me pray for us, and then we'll begin reading at verse 4.
God, we have just sung that you would speak to us, that you would open up the eyes of our hearts,
that you would open up our spiritual ears,
so that we might hear what your spirit is saying to us, your church.
God, would you do that now as we come to this final chapter of the book of Nehemiah?
Lord, help us to really hear the message for us that you have.
Help us to see Christ more clearly this morning, Father.
Help us to love him and be renewed in our desire to serve him and enjoy him.
We pray this in the name of Christ.
Amen.
Nehemiah 13, starting with verse 4.
Now, before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God
and who was related to Tobiah, prepared for Tobiah a large chamber
where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels,
and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites,
singers and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.
While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem,
for in the 32nd year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I went to the king.
And after some time, I asked leave of the king and came to Jerusalem.
And I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah,
preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.
And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber.
Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers,
and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God
with the grain offering and the frankincense.
I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them,
so that the Levites and the singers who did the work had fled each to his field.
So I confronted the officials and said,
Why is the house of God forsaken?
And I gathered them together and set them in their stations.
Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses,
and I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shalamiah the priest,
Zadok the scribe, and Padaiah of the Levites,
and as their assistant Hanan, the son of Zachor, son of Mataniah,
for they were considered reliable,
and their duty was to distribute to their brothers.
Remember me, O my God, concerning this,
and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God
and for his service.
In those days, I saw in Judah people treading wine presses on the Sabbath
and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys
and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads
which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.
And I warned them on the day when they sold food.
Tyrians also who lived in the city brought in fish and all kinds of goods
and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem itself.
Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them,
what is this evil thing that you are doing profaning the Sabbath day?
Did not your fathers act in this way?
And did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city?
Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.
As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath,
I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders
that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath.
And I stationed some of my servants at the gates
that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day.
Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.
But I warned them and said to them, why do you lodge outside the wall?
If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.
From that time on, they did not come on the Sabbath.
Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves
and come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy.
Remember this also in my favor, O my God,
and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.
In those days, I also saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod,
and they could not speak the language of Judah,
but only the language of each people.
And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them
and pulled out their hair.
And I made them take an oath in the name of God,
saying, you shall not give your daughters to their sons
or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin on account of such women?
And among the many nations, there was no king like him,
and he was beloved by his God,
and God made him king over all Israel.
Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.
Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil
and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?
And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib, the high priest,
was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite.
Therefore, I chased him from me.
Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood
and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
Thus, I cleansed them from everything foreign,
and I established the duties of the priests and the Levites,
each in his work,
and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times
for the firstfruits.
Remember me, O my God, for good.
Semper reformanda.
It's a Latin phrase that means always reforming
or always being reformed.
Apparently, the origin of the phrase comes from 1674
from a Dutch pastor named Jockadus van Lodenstein.
Not a name you hear much today, but a pretty great name,
Jockadus van Lodenstein.
And what Lodenstein saw in the church of his day
was that after the great spiritual advances and victories
of the Reformation of the 16th century
and after the ongoing work of the early 17th century
in purifying doctrine and worship in church government
according to God's word,
what van Lodenstein saw was that there was still a need
for reform.
But not a change in doctrine or in biblical ethics
as some would later use the slogan.
No, semper reformanda originally meant
the need for ongoing reformation of the heart.
That is, vital and true faith must be constantly cultivated.
All the externals can be in place,
but the human heart must always be reformed and renewed.
Semper reformanda.
In fact, perhaps you've seen this in your own life.
After a season of great spiritual growth,
of zeal and energy for the Lord,
after seeing God do great things in your life
or in the life of those around you,
after feeling his close presence,
after seeing his active hand at work,
there comes a time when the fire dies down
and some of those old patterns start to creep back in
and we start to settle down
into what one commentator called
another comfortable compromise with the world.
This is true of many periods in church history.
This is true of many local churches and denominations.
And this is true of many of our own lives.
Semper reformanda,
the need for ongoing spiritual reform.
But how is it done?
What sort of work needs to take place
so that we can maintain our spiritual zeal and fire?
What are some of the means for this ongoing work of renewal?
Well, this is what Nehemiah 13 is all about.
Remember what we've seen so far
in the story of Ezra and Nehemiah.
These books have described
almost 100 years of spiritual reformation and renewal.
There have been ups and downs, yes,
but consider the whole.
In Ezra 1 through 6,
the temple has been rebuilt.
In Ezra 7 through 10,
the people are brought back to the law of God.
And here in the book of Nehemiah,
the city of Jerusalem is rebuilt
and repopulated
and rededicated to God
and to God's word.
In other words,
at the beginning of this story,
the people are in exile and in shame
and at the end,
the people are home,
worshiping God,
feasting on his word,
celebrating his goodness,
watching the kingdom of God advance.
That sounds a lot like a revival to me.
Doesn't it to you?
But the book doesn't end there.
And oh,
how good
for our souls
that the book
doesn't end there.
The verses that we read
from chapter 13
recount actually
three episodes
that take place
sometime after
the completion
and the dedication
of the city walls.
You see,
in 433 BC,
that's about 12 years
after Nehemiah's arrival
in Jerusalem
and the rebuilding of the walls,
in 433 BC,
Nehemiah is called back
to the Persian king,
Artaxerxes.
We see that in verse 6
of chapter 13.
Now remember,
Nehemiah held a official position
in the imperial court,
so he's called back
at this time
to check in.
Then sometime
after that check in,
the exact amount of times
not to mention,
Nehemiah returns
to Jerusalem
sometime after 433 BC.
And what does Nehemiah find?
He finds that the people
are still in need of reform.
After all the spiritual advances
of the previous generations,
after all the spiritual advances
of just a few years ago,
the people have settled down
into a comfortable compromise
with the world.
The house of God
is being neglected
and even polluted
in verses 4 through 14.
The Sabbath is being ignored
and profaned
in verses 15 through 22.
And the people,
even the priests themselves,
are again intermarrying
with their non-Jewish neighbors
in verses 23 through 29.
Notice how each of these
three sections ends
with one of Nehemiah's prayer.
That's a sort of
clear literary marker
showing us that there are
sort of three sections
in this part of the chapter.
But what's worse
as we look at chapter 13
is that Nehemiah's old enemies,
Sanballat and Tobiah,
if you've been here this summer,
you'll recognize those names.
They're the very ones
who oppose the rebuilding
of the walls
who threatened
and mocked the people
and here they are
implicated
in the very backsliding
of the people.
Tobiah's been given
his own very large chamber
right in the courts
of the house of God,
a chamber that's meant
to store offerings
and other supplies
for the ongoing temple worship.
And on top of that,
one of the high priest's grandsons
is married
to the daughter of Sanballat,
Nehemiah's arch enemy
and the primary antagonist
during the reconstruction project.
Nehemiah's enemies
gotten the last laugh
after all.
You have to admit,
it is a strange ending
to the book.
But it's the ending
our hearts actually need.
We need to know
that the work of reform
doesn't end.
Even after great
spiritual advances,
the church must always
be reformed in heart.
So what are the means
of this ongoing reform
that we need?
There are three
that we see here
in Nehemiah 13.
The first means
of ongoing reform
that we see here
is the need
for ongoing correction.
Ongoing correction.
In each of these three episodes
in chapter 13,
Nehemiah has to do
a work of confrontation.
Notice that word
repeated in verse 11
and in verse 17
and again in verse 25.
You see,
our hearts
are kind of like ships
out on the water
and when we stop rowing,
what happens?
We don't stay in one place.
No,
we drift.
But the funny thing is
we never seem to drift
in the right direction,
do we?
We always drift
towards the rocks
and we always drift
toward the shoals
that threaten to sink us.
But godly correction
you see
is like a coast guard boat
coming alongside us
for our own good
with an air horn
or a megaphone
to wake us up
and to show us
the danger we're in.
Now,
no one likes
being corrected,
of course.
It's uncomfortable.
Sometimes it's embarrassing.
It hurts our pride.
But ultimately,
we need it.
We need a spiritual megaphone
every once in a while
to wake us up
and get us out of our drift.
Now,
consider the three areas
where Nehemiah's contemporaries
needed ongoing correction.
First,
when it came to the house of God.
That's verses 4 through 14.
Now,
not only has Tobiah,
a non-Jewish official
from one of the surrounding nations,
one of the surrounding territories,
been given his own room
right in the temple complex,
but the Levites,
the ones who carried out
the daily tasks
of maintaining the temple,
they're forced
to leave their posts of ministry
to go out into the fields
to farm and defend for themselves
because the tithes
and the offerings
aren't being administered properly.
In other words,
the officials and the people
have become so careless
when it came to maintaining
the right worship of God
that the temple
is being given over
to godless men
and the ministers
are forced to fend
for themselves.
What about us?
I wonder, friend,
for the sake
of ongoing renewal,
for the sake of maintaining
your spiritual fire,
are you willing
to be confronted,
to be corrected
in how you treat
and maintain
the worship of God today?
Think about the issues
with Tobiah
in verses 4 through 9.
Now, giving Tobiah
a spare chamber
in the temple
was probably justified
in the minds of people
like Eliashib
and the other priests
because, after all,
Tobiah was a powerful person
in local politics.
He was a local
neighboring official,
someone who could pull
some strings if need be.
He was already intermarried
to some important families.
He had connections.
He had influence.
And it's always good
to have someone like that
in your corner, right?
Why not let him
set up shop in the temple?
Sadly, many Christians
can think similarly today.
Why not let a public official
come and promote
his or her campaign
in the church?
It's good to have someone
like that in your corner, right?
Or maybe another way
we do this,
we say,
let's just look the other way
when it comes to
so-and-so church member.
Yes, his or her life
isn't really that Christ-like,
but they do give a lot of money
to the church
and they are pretty powerful
in the community,
so we don't want to offend them.
They might go somewhere else.
But woe to us, friends,
if we think the God
of the universe,
the Lord of hosts,
needs a Tobiah
to sit in his house,
no matter how powerful
they might be
in the world's eyes,
in order to protect
and preserve
and advance his kingdom
in the world.
But what about the issue
of administering the tithes
in verses 10 through 13?
This is perhaps
even more unnerving
for us today.
Are we willing
to have someone
confront us
on how we use
our finances
for kingdom work?
Are you willing
to be corrected
when it comes
to your money?
Ouch.
Now, let me say
that the pastors
and elders at Trinity
don't see
how much
individual members give.
But if a friend
were to confront you
on how much you gave
to the local church,
the kingdom work,
to supporting the poor,
how would you respond?
Jesus says
that where your treasure is,
there your heart will be.
It's very interesting.
We often look at that verse
and say,
where your heart is,
there your treasure goes.
Not what Jesus says.
He says,
where your treasure is,
that's where your heart goes.
Would you welcome
this kind of correction?
Now, I will say
that God has always
provided financially
for what this church needs.
and God has consistently
raised up deacons
and staff
who can administer
those finances faithfully.
So let me say,
I am thankful
for those of you
who collect and count
on Sundays
and those of you
who budget and plan
and do our accounting
and keep our records
up to date
and pay our bills on time.
It may not feel
like spiritual work,
but it is
and we are grateful for you.
Thank you for the work
that you do.
Pastor Matt
may be able to farm
and fend for himself.
I'm not sure
I could do that.
I'm just kidding.
Actually, I'm not kidding.
I kill most of the things
I plant.
Thank you for your labors
for the kingdom of God,
deacons, ushers,
all of you
who care for the finances,
those of you
who give faithfully.
We are grateful for you.
The kingdom of God
is advancing because of you.
But may all of us
be open to correction
in how we provide
financially for kingdom work.
Let us be open
to being corrected
on how we treat
and maintain
the worship of God.
That's Nehemiah's
first correction.
But second,
in verses 15 through 22,
he corrects them
with regard to the Sabbath.
Now,
in the Old Testament,
God commanded
the people of Israel
to stop working
on the seventh day
of the week
so that they could remember
God alone
as their creator
and their redeemer.
So that they could know
and experience
that it wasn't
their own hands
that made them
or their own hands
that would save them,
but it was God's hands
that had made them
and it saves them.
You see,
stopping on the Sabbath day
was a gift
to help them remember
and live into that reality.
But,
come on,
not work
for a whole day?
Doesn't that make us
one-seventh less
productive and profitable?
Who wants to take
a 14% pay cut?
Right?
But how we use our time
is incredibly important
to God.
Now,
the Old Testament
Sabbath observance
doesn't apply
in the same exact way today
now that we live
in the New Testament era,
now that Christ has come
who is our true
Sabbath rest.
However,
it has become
increasingly clear
to me
on a personal level
that stopping
for one day a week
and letting God
be God
over our time
and over our labor
is a radically
important
spiritual discipline.
God cares
how we use
our time.
Are you willing
to be corrected
in how you use
your time
for God
and for others?
You know,
our time
is not our own.
It is all
a gift
from God.
So,
for the sake
of ongoing renewal,
are you open
to being corrected
on how you use
that gift
of God's time
to you?
Lastly,
Nehemiah
corrects the people
when it comes
to marriage.
Now,
let's be clear.
The issue
with these marriages
in verses 23
through 29
is not
an ethnic
or racial issue.
it is a religious
or spiritual issue.
In other words,
the reason God
told his people
in the Old Testament
not to intermarry
with the surrounding
nations
was not because
they were different
racially,
but because they
were different
spiritually,
because they
didn't worship
the Lord,
the one true God.
In fact,
if anyone
from among
those nations
became a worshiper
of the Lord,
if they joined
the covenant community,
they were considered
full members.
Consider Ruth.
She was a Moabite.
And she took
the Lord
as her God.
And so Boaz,
a faithful Israelite,
was free
to marry her.
So at the end
of the day,
God does not
forbid what we
would call
interracial marriage
today.
That's not what
these verses
are about.
God is fine
with that.
God created us
in all of our
diversity
and he celebrates
it.
But what God
does not desire
is marriage
between a believer
and a non-believer.
that's what
verses 23
through 29
are all about.
Now,
why is God
so adamant
that believers
not marry
a non-believer?
Well,
consider the
spiritual effect
on the couple.
Believers are
meant to love
God with all
our heart,
soul,
mind,
and strength.
But imagine
being married
to a person
who cannot
look into
your heart,
into your
very self,
and love
what you
love.
Isn't that
the very thing
we're looking
for in marriage
at the end
of the day?
For someone
to be able
to look into
us and to
love what we
love,
and in so
doing,
to love us.
Inevitably,
such a marriage
between a believer
and a non-believer,
in such a marriage
either the
believing spouse
will drift away
from Jesus,
or the couple
will drift away
from each other,
there are
exceptions,
yes,
but they are
very few
and very far
between.
Nehemiah says,
consider the
example of
Solomon.
If Solomon,
God's chosen
and beloved
king,
had his heart
pulled away
from God
in this way,
what makes
you think
you are
the exception?
But in
Nehemiah,
it's not just
the effect
on the couple,
but also
on the children
that is highlighted.
In verse 24,
half of the children
born to these
families cannot
speak the
language of
Judah.
In other words,
they're losing
their spiritual
heritage.
All that the
people had
gained spiritually
in their return
from the exile
and in their
reestablishment
in the land
was now
threatened to
be lost
in a single
generation,
a generation
who could no
longer take up
the praise of
God and the
prayer of God
and the word
of God.
Nehemiah
confronts
them.
How about
it,
friend?
Are you
willing to
be confronted
when it
comes to
who you
marry,
to who
you date?
For the
sake of
spiritual
renewal,
for spiritual
survival,
are you
open to
that kind
of loving
correction
when it
comes to
your
relationships?
And so,
taking a step
back now,
we see that
we need
ongoing
correction.
In our
approach to
worship and
finances,
in our
approach to
work and
our use
of time,
in our
approach to
marriage and
relationships,
in each of
these areas,
Nehemiah's
contemporaries
had lost
their God
centeredness.
You see,
money and
time and
sex and
marriage,
these are not
separated from
our spiritual
life.
All of our
life is
worship.
God wants
our whole
life to
bring him
praise.
Even the
seemingly
non-spiritual
or ordinary
parts of
our lives
are meant
to be
lived for
him,
for his
praise.
So,
in light
of that,
are you
open to
ongoing
correction
for the
sake of
maintaining
your
spiritual
zeal,
for the
sake of
waking
up from
your
drift?
Jesus
says that
spiritual
correction is
a community
project in
Matthew 18.
And it
takes a
spirit of
gentleness,
Paul says in
Galatians 6.
And some
of us,
yes,
have seen
the work
of correction
done very
poorly,
but even
so,
are you
open to
good,
rightful,
ongoing
correction?
Because you
need it,
and I
need it.
The people
in Nehemiah's
day needed
it.
After our
great spiritual
advances,
the watchword
still has to
be semper
reformanda,
always reforming,
always renewing the
heart.
But it's
not just
ongoing
correction that
we need.
The second
means of
ongoing
reform that
we see
here is
the need
for courageous
leaders.
Now,
we won't
spend as
much time
here as
on the
first point,
but it's
hard to
read this
chapter and
not be
struck by
Nehemiah's
bold actions
and his
honest
prayers.
Of course,
on first
reading,
his actions
maybe seem
a little
too bold.
In
verse 25,
he's slapping
them and pulling
out their
hair.
I've never
seen that in
a how-to
pastoral manual.
I'll just let
you know.
But remember,
not everything
described in
the Bible is
meant to be an
example for us
to imitate.
Those actions
would not be
appropriate for
us today.
However,
given Nehemiah's
context,
maybe a few
ears needed to
be twisted and
a few hairs
pulled out,
as it were,
to wake up the
drifting ship
and keep it
from crashing
ashore.
Again,
I'm not
advocating that
we take the
exact same
measures,
but are we
willing to
be bold,
to be
courageous?
The church
needs leaders
who have a
God-centered
love,
who are
willing to
swim against
the tide and
confront when
necessary.
But it's not
just bold action,
it's also
honest prayer.
This chapter
is punctuated
by Nehemiah's
prayer life,
verse 14,
verse 22,
verse 29,
and then it
all rounds
off in
verse 30.
And now,
much like his
bold actions,
his honest
prayers can
strike us on
the first
reading as a
bit odd,
maybe even a
bit self-righteous.
But actually,
on closer
inspection,
these prayers
are just the
opposite.
Yes,
Nehemiah
prays for
God to
remember him.
But,
this prayer
springs not
from a sense
of self-importance
or self-accomplishment,
but from a sense
of humility.
In fact,
it's an appeal
for help.
After all,
in the Bible,
God's remembering
always implies
his intervention,
his action,
his help.
God's remembering
is not just
his recollection
or his
recognition.
In other words,
Nehemiah in
these prayers
is committing
himself and
his cause
to the only
safe hands,
the hands of
God.
And so,
you see,
what drives
Nehemiah at the
end of the day
is not what
his contemporaries
think of him
or how they
might remember
him,
but what God
thinks of him
and how God
might remember
him.
Nehemiah longs
at the end
of the day
to hear God
say,
well done,
good and
faithful servant.
And living
for God's
approval
rather than
the approval
of people
is part of
what real
spirituality
looks like.
So,
in the work
of ongoing
reformation,
we need not
just correction
but courageous
leaders.
So,
church family,
will you commit
to praying
for the leaders
here at Trinity
and for the
elders especially?
For our own
spiritual good,
for our own
ongoing renewal,
we need bold
and prayerful
pastors and
elders.
leaders,
would you pray
for them
in that work?
But also
pray for the
deacons and
for the small
group leaders
and for the
ministry leaders
and volunteers
that they too
would be bold
and prayerful
in their work.
But also
consider your
own life.
Are you
willing to be
this kind
of courageous
leader in
your own
spiritual
context,
in the midst
of your
family,
parents,
in the midst
of your
Christian
friendships,
in the context
of your
small group?
You know,
each of us,
when we think
about it,
has a role
of influence
no matter
where we
are placed.
And sometimes
God will call
us to bold
action.
That doesn't
mean nitpicking
on every little
thing,
but lovingly
addressing real
issues as they
arise.
it's not
going to be
easy.
It will
take a
thick skin
and a
soft heart,
but again,
prayer is
the key.
Dependence
and humility
before God.
Living for
God's approval
more than
for the
approval of
others.
So then
the need
for ongoing
reform takes
ongoing
correction and
courageous
leadership,
but that's
not all.
We actually
need more
than just
correction and
godly leaders.
Because,
you know,
if we stopped
there,
we'd be merely
talking about
outside-in
chains,
trying to
continue to
go from the
outside to
the in.
And we
need more
than just an
outside-in
kind of
change.
We need a
change,
we need a
renewal that
can happen
from the
inside out.
We need a
way to
stoke the
fire from
the inside.
inside.
And what
Nehemiah 13
ultimately
shows us
is just
that.
What this
chapter points
us to is
a need for
nothing less
than a new
covenant and
a new heart.
Now,
here's what you
have to see.
These three
areas that
Nehemiah
corrects in
chapter 13,
they are the
very three
areas that in
chapter 10,
the people
took a
solemn oath
to uphold
as they
renewed their
covenant with
God.
The covenant,
that is the
terms of the
relationship that
God established
at Sinai.
In chapter 10,
they said,
we're going to
do it.
And you
remember,
just a few
chapters ago,
just two weeks
ago,
what were the
principal things
they promised
to uphold
from that
covenant?
Who they
married,
observing the
Sabbath,
and taking
care of God's
house.
We're going
to do it,
they say.
But despite
their best
intentions,
the people
cannot keep
their end of
the covenant.
In a little
over a decade,
the same
generation who
was vowing
their utmost
obedience will
be breaking
the very
commands that
they swore
to uphold.
After all,
what are the
failures of
chapter 13?
Who they
marry,
observing the
Sabbath,
and taking
care of God's
house.
we need
ongoing
correction,
yes.
We need
courageous
leaders who
will provide
it,
yes.
But above
all,
we need a
new covenant,
and we need
a new heart.
And you see,
Nehemiah 13 is
like this beacon
pulsing at the
end of Old
Testament history.
This is the
last piece of
history written
in the Old
Testament.
This is how
the story ends,
right here.
And here it is,
just beaming
out,
crying out
for God
to remember,
and to remember
not just
Nehemiah,
but for God
to remember
his own
promise to
do something
that his
people couldn't
do.
Do you
remember Jeremiah
in those years
leading up to
the exile,
the prophet
Jeremiah?
We actually
read his
words earlier
in the service.
What did he
talk about?
He'd talk
about a new
covenant where
God would
write his
law,
not on
tablets anymore,
but he'd
write them on
the very
hearts of
his people.
And in
doing that,
what would
be the
condition of
that writing
on their
hearts?
He would
forgive their
sins once
and for
all.
And then
Ezekiel,
the prophet
Ezekiel,
in the midst
of the
exile,
spoke about
a time to
come when
God would
actually take
out our
hearts of
stone and
give us a
heart of
flesh that
actually beat
and pulsed
with the
love of
God rather
than the
love of
ourselves.
And here's
Nehemiah at
the end of
Old Testament
history saying,
God, remember
for our
good.
And in the
New Testament,
we see that
God makes
good on
his promises.
God sends
his son Jesus
to do what
Nehemiah could
never do.
Nehemiah could
confront and he
could correct and
he could cleanse
temple chambers,
but he could not
cleanse the human
heart.
And yet Jesus,
fully God and
fully human,
takes our
fallen human
nature upon
himself and
he obeys the
terms of God's
covenant perfectly.
And he dies on
a cross to pay
the penalty for
our covenant
breaking in our
place so that
now the terms
of our
relationship with
God, the
covenant can be
new.
There can be
new terms
between us
and God.
Terms that
depend not on
my righteousness
or my
obedience or
my love,
but on Christ's
righteousness and
on his obedience
and on his
love.
And through
faith in Christ,
through coming
into union with
him, we come
into his new
covenant.
And like
Jeremiah and
Ezekiel said,
and like Nehemiah
prayed and
longed for,
God remembers
and gives us
forgiveness and
a new heart.
What keeps the
fire burning in
our hearts?
What is the
real, vital
basis for this
work of
ongoing reform?
Semper
reformanda.
Correction will
help.
Courageous
leaders will be
needed.
But at the
end of the
day, it's
the reality of
the new
covenant, sealed
by the blood
of Jesus, ratified
in his resurrection
from the dead,
imparted to our
hearts by the
pouring out of
his spirit,
received by
faith.
above all, we
must seek
ongoing intimacy
with our living
Lord Jesus and
his abundant
grace.
That is
renewal.
Revivals are
good.
We pray for
them.
We pray that our
city will experience
a great turning to
God.
Healthy church
growth is good.
We want to see
our church and all
the churches of New
Haven grow in
breadth and in
depth, and we
want to plant more
churches that will
do the same.
Personal seasons of
spiritual zeal and
energy for God are
good.
We thank God for
them, and we want
more of them.
But as this chapter
shows us, there will
also be seasons of
drift, and we have
to be ready for
them.
And there, in those
moments when we're
tempted to settle
down into a
comfortable compromise,
it's the new
covenant.
that we have to
grasp once again,
that Jesus died so
that we might live,
that he rose again
so that we might
know we're forgiven
and accepted, that
Jesus ascended as
king, and that Jesus
will come again and
make all things new,
and that we,
friends, are his
people on earth
bearing the salt and
light of his
kingdom.
So may the Lord
Jesus be always
reforming us,
always renewing our
hearts, and may he
always be exalted
among us.
Semper reformanda.
Let's pray.
Oh, Father, how much
we need your Holy
Spirit to come down
into our hearts and
rekindle our first
love for you and for
our Lord Jesus.
God, as we take just
a moment in silence
before you, would you
come and would you
meet with us as we
prepare to come to
your table?
Amen.
Well, friends, it's
fitting that after
considering Nehemiah
13, we'd celebrate
the Lord's Supper.
Nehemiah 13 shows us
we need a new covenant
that is a relationship
with God based not on
our obedience but on
Jesus' faithful obedience
in our place.
And here at the
Lord's Supper, we
celebrate just that,
that Jesus established
this new covenant.
So we eat bread and we
remember his body
broken for us and we
drink a cup and we
remember his blood shed
for us.
And by the Holy Spirit,
Jesus promises to be
present here and to
fan the flames of faith
in our hearts.
You know, this act that
we do, do you remember,
it goes all the way back
to Jesus himself.
So as we sit here
around this table,
it's like we're sitting
in that original upper
room with Jesus as the
host and he's saying to
us, here it is,
beloved, the new covenant
in my blood.
Do this in remembrance of
me.
So if you've turned from
sin and you placed your
trust in Christ, eat with
us.
If you're a believer in
Jesus and you haven't been
baptized, don't delay.
Get baptized.
Identify publicly with your
Savior and with his people.
If you're here this morning
and you're not a Christian,
if you're not sure kind of
where you're at spiritually,
we're glad you're here, but
just pass the trays by as
they come around.
If you need help on your
spiritual journey, there are
prayers in the bulletin that
are there just as sort of
tools or means for you to
pray as you seek God.
You see, rather than taking
the bread and taking the
cup, this is a time for you
to take hold of Christ
himself.
And there are prayers there
that can help you to do
that, to come into a living
relationship with the living
Lord who loves you.
So I wonder if those who are
helping to serve would come
forward.
The way we do this at
Trinity is that we're going
to pray and we're going to
ask God his blessing as we
eat the bread together and
we'll pass it out and then
we'll eat it together.
And then we're going to pray
again before we take the
cup and we're going to pass
the cup out and we're going
to drink it together.
James, would you pray for
the bread for us?
All right, let's pray
together.
Father, we are grateful for
the new covenant that has
done for us what we could
not do for ourselves.
It has done for us what no
other human could do for us.
Thank you for this regular
reminder of the price of our
redemption and the power of it
for we are forgetful people.
We pray that as we take this
bread that you would imprint in
our hearts and you the power of
your salvation and that you would
cause us to be bold in acting
in accordance to your will, to
your glory.
We pray this in Christ's name.
Amen.